Written by

Chris Vannini

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Chris Vannini is the managing editor of the Spartans blog The Only Colors. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. Read his column every Monday at here and follow Vannini on Twitter at @ChrisVannini.

For 35 games, MSU never laid an egg.

They had bad games, but they always did enough to keep themselves in it or even win. As the year went on, you realized the floor was high for this team.

The ceiling was high, too, but they didn’t get there too often. They hit the floor against Duke on Friday, and the 71-61 final score was the second-largest margin of defeat for the Spartans on the year. The largest was a 13-point loss at Minnesota in which MSU led with seven minutes to play.

So the Sweet 16 was not the best time to play your worst game of the season. But that’s what the tournament is. One slip-up, and you’re done. That’s why you can never take for granted what Tom Izzo has done in March.

But the 2012-13 season is over, as is the career of Derrick Nix.

It was a season with plenty of highs — a win over Kansas, a 30-point lead against Michigan, another sweep of Wisconsin, a Sweet 16 — but finishing with a quick, yet slow death certainly puts a damper on things.

Izzo’s gestures and comments following the game represented how all Spartan fans felt. It was especially tough because it was far from a classic game. Fouls racked up on both teams, turning it into an ugly affair. Neither team could give its best shot.

Teams had to score with the guards. Duke did it, with Seth Curry scoring 29 and Rasheed Suliamon scoring 16 (12-for-14 from the free-throw line). MSU didn’t. While Keith Appling scored 16 on 5-for-9 shooting, he recorded zero assists and four turnovers, while Gary Harris shot 2-for-11.

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MSU couldn’t do what it wanted to do because of foul trouble, and it picked the worst possible time for a second-half drought of one field goal in nearly 15 minutes.

Looking at the big picture, another opportunity for the MSU program to take a step forward was dashed. After going all-in on and losing uber-recruit Jabari Parker to Duke, the current Spartans lost to the Blue Devils in a matchup where it didn’t appear Duke had the sizable talent advantage it usually does.

Izzo has dreamed of getting MSU to the elite, blue-blood level of teams like Duke. They appeared to be close after back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2009 and 2010 and returning almost everyone for 2011. But things crashed on and off the court and the Spartans barely got into the tournament.

They missed more opportunities in December and on Friday.

But as quickly as opportunities were missed, they could be back. Although I wouldn’t put Harris’ and Adreian Payne’s post-game comments in stone, the indications seem to be that they’ll both spurn the NBA and return. If they do, the Spartans will surely be a top-10 team in the preseason, and Izzo may have his best opportunity at a second national championship.

Appling will be in his second season where the offense truly goes through him as point guard. Branden Dawson will be able to work on his handle and shooting, which he do couldn’t last year. Russell Byrd will have another opportunity to live up to his hype. The freshmen can build on seasons of varying success, while redshirted Kenny Kaminski could add another deep threat.

Payne can strengthen up and develop a true post game to complete his skillset. And Harris will have an off-season to heal up and reach his true potential, even if he undergoes shoulder surgery.

If they both leave, it could be another rebuilding year. They don’t have much time to think about it. The NCAA’s deadline to return is April 16.

The pressure is also on Appling and Payne to avoid becoming the first four-year players under Izzo not to reach a Final Four. The last two times MSU went three years without a Final Four, they reached it in the fourth year (2005, 2009).

The pressure and fear of falling back has returned, especially with the other team in this state reaching the Final Four.